The Best (Re)Laid Plans December TR - Page 8 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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Hey everybody! Thanks for the encouragement! And I just added "Waking Sleeping Beauty" to my next cart from Amazon!
OK, it's time for a couple PhotPass pics of Sheri, Darlene, and me in front of the WL Christmas tree.
Then Sandy to say she was getting on the boat from MK to WL at that exact moment, so Sheri and I went down to the boat dock to await her arrival.
Sheri is such a -- she turned to the line of people on the dock who were waiting to go to the MK and said, "Hey, when our friend Sandy gets off the boat, everybody and " -- and that's exactly what they did! Sandy said it made her day!
Sorry this is blurry -- I kept moving to get the best vantage point and blew it!
Artist Point gave us a pager, so Sheri-Sandy-I took the opp for a in front of the WL Christmas tree.
i have to find those echo lake apartments....something i have never seen at DHS. love the bit about little elliott....ha ha ha. i can just picture it in my mind. oh and kelly...gee thanks for encouraging our little wallflower to vye for "star of the day" or whatever you called it. ha ha ha...there will be NO rest for the next person who travels with her now...oh wait, that might be me!
Sorry Sheri!
We just love Sci-Fi. We have been there every trip. And why wouldn't anyone want to enjoy a TS at WDW? The food is part of the reason to go!
Alright Cindy, we're on for B&TB. A certain 4 year old may join us.
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I have fallen so behind on reading TR's - but I got to read your whole report so far today and it is just wonderful.
So sorry Judy could not make this trip, but glad you did not have a bad time being solo...oh wait, were you solo I just love how you find friends everywhere you go, from Pam at the MK, to finding old friends like the Canton Family, to Pat & Joan who I figure will never forget their time spent with the famous Cindy, Dennis & April at DHS, and of course Nora, Sandy, Sheri and her mom.
I am so loving everything about your report and cannot wait to read about more of your adventures!!!
I generally like Riesling, but their Hogue Lake Harvest was too sweet for me. Our server recommended Kung Fu Girl (from Washington), and I really liked it. Everyone ordered and we -- and I thought I had a photo of us clinking glasses there, but I sure can't find it now. Sheri? Sandy? Either of you get a photo of us at Artist Point?
Well, for all you foodies, here's what our delectable dishes looked like. First, when Darlene opened the wine list, here's what she got:
which made Darlene a bit grumpy, but we all
I think Darlene got the kettle-steamed Penn Cove Mussels with Sourdough Panzanella:
And the rest of us got the incredible Smokey Portobello Soup with Roasted Shiitakes and Chive Oil:
My entree was the Yukon Gold Potato Gnocchi with heirloom carrots, chanterelle mushrooms, fresh ricotta, English peas and sweet corn nage --
Who ordered this, and what is it? Looks yummy -- sorry, my notes don't list who ate what that night. Must've been the wine.
The four of us had a marvelous time, and then Sheri & Darlene headed back to the Yacht Club while Sandy and I took the boat to Fort Wilderness. (We would all be meeting for lunch at Tutto Italia the next day, along with Nora.)
Sandy and I had a great time, slowly strolling all the lanes amongst the campers.
Nice to know the Grim Grinning Ghosts get in the "spirit" of the Christmas holidays!
Even the golf carts that people travel on at Fort Wilderness are decorated to the hilt:
Sandy and I had so much fun looking at all this stuff -- and it was such a nice evening that we kept walking and walking. So glad we did, because we found ourselves on a quiet street and then heard familiar music playing. . . quite beautiful and serene music -- and we came upon a display that far surpassed all the others.
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"When You Wish Upon a Star," the old WDW Holiday Wishes music, and a retired piece that Disneyland used to play for Christmas were being played as an amazing series of lights were perfectly synced -- wait, is that Cinderella's Castle? It was about a 3-foot tall replica of my castle -- very detailed. We were so and yet -- it was so beautiful, I can't even describe it.
I took lots of photos while getting misty-eyed, and then a man from the crowd suggested moving to another location where I’d have a better view. We stood together in silence for a few moments, and then he said, “I can tell you feel about Disney the way I do, and that’s why I suggested you move. I built that castle and strung those lights.”
Wow. Amazing. Inspiring. Magical.
The man’s name is Dave & his wife is Dee. It was a pleasure to shake their hands & hear their story. They live in Titusville, about one hour from WDW. They come every December – this year, they could only stay for 2 weeks. Once they get home, they set up the display in their front yard.
It took Dave 9 months to construct the castle out of plywood, and then he set up the music with the lights timed perfectly.
Sandy and I felt so privileged to see and hear the display and to hug Dave goodbye. We thanked him for sharing his love of Disney with the rest of us. And I was so happy to have shared this incredibly moving moment with my dear friend Sandy.
After she returned to Canada from this trip, Sandy found this video on YouTube that can’t capture all the magic of Dave’s work, but it gives you an idea. Enjoy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMLpu...source=message (I don't know why it's showing up twice -- there's only one video to watch.)
i can't remember what the dish was, but it was chicken something or other. how fun it was and how much we laughed and laughed when the wine list turned up empty....ha ha ha. i figured it was a sign that we should not imbibe that night...eh, we had some wine anyway. and yep, my mother can certainly be less than magical. that was the whole point in getting her to disney at xmas with us. you can tell by the photos she has not exactly "gotten it" yet...ha ha ha. but,,,it was great fun!
More awesome PP pictures, especially the ones with the WL Christmas tree! Dinner at Artist Point looks so delicious! Great pictures and video from Fort Wilderness.
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to say she was getting on the boat from MK to WL at that exact moment, so Sheri and I went down to the boat dock to await her arrival.
-- she turned to the line of people on the dock who were waiting to go to the MK and said, "Hey, when our friend Sandy gets off the boat, everybody 
and 
" -- and that's exactly what they did! Sandy said it made her day! 
in front of the WL Christmas tree.
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It was about a 3-foot tall replica of my castle -- very detailed. We were so 
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